Poll: Abbas and Haniyeh would face a close election race - Haaretz

Subscribe to Print Edition

Wed., August 22, 2007 Elul 8, 5767

Israel Time: 02:10 (EST+7)

web haaretz.com

Back to Homepage

Print Edition

Diplomacy

Defense

Arts & Leisure

Real Estate

Jewish World

National

Advertising

Magazine

Week's End

Business

Opinion

Rosner's Domain

Anglo File

Travel

Sports

del.icio.us

Digg It! new

Last update - 23:46 22/08/2007

Poll: Abbas and Haniyeh would face a close election race

By Reuters

Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh would be locked in a close race if elections for Palestinian president were held now, an opinion poll showed on Wednesday.

According to the poll, 20.6 percent of Palestinians would vote for the incumbent Abbas, and 18.8 percent would vote for deposed Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas. The poll showed that 16.6 percent would vote for Marwan Barghouthi, a Fatah leader imprisoned in Israel.

The poll, conducted by the Jerusalem Media Communications Center, polled 1,199 Palestinians in the West Bank and the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip with a margin of error of three percentage points.

	Advertisement

In addition, the poll showed that 46.7 percent of the Palestinian people generally believed that the situation in the coastal territory worsened following the Hamas seizure in June, compared with 27.1 percent who thought the situation improved.

On the other hand, the poll showed, 35.4 percent thought the situation in the West Bank improved after the subsequent formation of Salam Fayad's Fatah-backed government, where 27.9 percent thought the situation worsened after its formation.

PA Prime Minister Fayad said last week that holding early elections was "not feasible" given the political situation in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Palestinian officials had said that advisers to Abbas were looking at options to exclude Hamas from participating in the elections.

Hamas, which won a parliamentary majority in a January 2006election, has said it would be unconstitutional for Abbas to call early elections. The group has threatened to block any election effort.

Hamas refuses to renounce violence and says it will not recognize Israel as demanded by major Western powers.

Bookmark to del.icio.us


	Tamir vs. the educators
	Judaism and ZIonism should be taught by seasoned teachers, not national service volunteers.


	The Mayor's visit
	The T.A. Mayor is mistaken in his inclination to root out pubs and restaurants.




1.	between hanyeh,abbas and barghouthi?	00:41	\|	jean marie	23/08/07

2.	Aha! This explains why the old quisling is changing his tune!	00:57	\|	lakshmi	23/08/07

3.	This is an odd headline.	01:07	\|	Rebekah S	23/08/07

4.	Democracy is no answer for the Palestinians	01:30	\|	Keith T	23/08/07

5.	The Palestinians Are Dumb Enough To Re-Elect Hamas	01:58	\|	Bill Foonman	23/08/07

6.	Remember the polls a month ago	02:04	\|	Mark Lincoln	23/08/07

Today Online


	Abbas: IDF ops prevent progress in peace talks
	Responses: 382


	Rosner: ADL terms Turkish massacre of Armenians 'genocide'
	Responses: 159


	EU resumes fuel shipments to Gaza power plant
	Responses: 113


	Support for Nazi ideas still haunts Germany, says gov't minister
	Responses: 72


	Several Arab countries speed up nuclear projects
	Responses: 99

Rosner's Domain

* The moral majority and the 2008 election

* ADL and the Armenian genocide: The incidental victim

* WTR: yes to "genocide", no to bill

* An epistolary novel: Will Steven's kids get Jewish education?

More Headlines
00:58 Crematorium burnt after Haredi paper reveals site


01:02 Police break up Hamas, Islamic Movement meeting in J'lem


00:15 IDF officer told to pay damages for shooting Palestinian


01:14 Anne Frank Foundation: Right-wing violence soaring in Holland


21:41 MKs to initiate bill to evacuate area near Negev industrial zone


23:46 Poll: Abbas and Haniyeh would face a close election race


22:46 Abbas: IDF operations prevent progress in peace talks


22:14 UN envoy to Mideast says concerned Israel hasn't done enough to help Abbas


22:11 Retired Supreme Court justices slam Justice Minister for reforms


23:48 Shipments of EU-funded fuel to Gaza power plant resume